One thing needed for our 16X restoration is speaker cloth. I have found a couple of pictures on line, but they either don't provide enough detail, or look so good that it isn't possible to be sure the material is original. It is the early 5 band model.

Any assistance would be very welcome.

Another thing I'd like to address is the paper label that should be on the inside of the cabinet with model number and chassis details of valves/tubes used. This was missing from our radio - which made the initial ID much harder, and also, knowing which valves went in which sockets, as they had been switched around! Are reproductions available, or copies of the drawings that I could print? This would be a nice feature to add.

That pattern was never faithfully reproduced. Back when Radio Grille Cloth Headquarters was in business, John tried to replicate it. It was not an exact copy, so he sold it as generic console cloth. It was a pretty good replacement at the time.

Radio Grille Cloth Headquarters is long gone now, so I would suggest the "Whiskey Rayon" cloth from Kenny Richmond (Richmond Designs) or GRC02 from Radio Daze.

Yes that is exactly our radio (aside from grillecloth obviously). Thanks for the recommendations.

I have also to reproduce the perforated back over the speaker compartment, but did find helpful pictures for that. It seems the backs were lined on the inside with something like furniture underlining. Is that correct?

I have another question about the cabinet. There is a recess at the rear of the soundboard matching the speaker. It originally had some sort of gasket material to seal between the speaker and the soundboard, and also presumably to prevent vibrations.

What material was used? There is nothing left, save for a few traces which suggest it might have been thick felt or similar.

I know that my 38-1 has a thick piece of grayish/brown felt going around the perimeter, measuring nearly 1/2" thick, and comes together at the bottom. I'm not sure if this is original, but certainly seems so, as the gasket around the dial face is in perfect condition, also.

As to the labels for the radio, check our "Downloadable Files" section of the Phorum. While I didn't see anything for the 16X, I did see a couple posts that listed the model 16. You might be able to use those, or if you have image editing capability, can edit then print them up.
Hope this is helpful.

I have an alternative for this as well. I found a just readable image on line, and in my service info have the label details. With this, I have started to redraw the chassis layout as accurately as possible on the computer. I will make this available once I am happy with it. If it gets to the radio I will ammend my label to record that it is a reproduction, and the date the set was restored.

OK. last weekend, I found the speaker felt gasket - a basic "Weather seal" product from the hardware store down the street, glued in place, and I replaced the sound board. Things are looking good. Close inspection revealed a couple of cabinet areas in need of glue, and that was also attended.

I found a suitable piece of hardboard, and this week's fun will be making a new back for the speaker compartment. I'll probably have to invest in a new hole saw - they were serious about those perforations!

A little work today... I cut a piece of board to the right size, and bought the correct size hole saw. Then I tried to make a few practice holes on the scrap material. Sometimes this is really worthwhile. Now I know suitable drill speeds and which direction to cut. Next, to mark out the panel in the appropriate pattern and start making holes. ~100 of them!

More work today (eventually) on the back. Some of my available time was absorbed in repairing a chair for Mrs H, making her happy.

I am now thinking of rebranding this part of the radio "The Philco Effort Absorbing Screen" as it continues to be slow going. Working with a hole saw depletes my drill battery rather quickly, and it is slow going with the hardboard. Slower still, as it is often hard to remove the disc from the centre of the tool. I have now figured out a method to stop that from happening. Not completed today, but I am at least over halfway with the drilling. I might display the radio facing the wall for a while to admire the time-consuming handiwork on this, and the chassis!

Here is the back, part way completed, and resting in the cabinet for reference. The design is based on a picture found on line, and scaled accordingly. Eventually I'll paint it black (matches what I saw in the picture) and add cloth to the inside surface.